Improvement in car brakes and starters



2 Asheets-smgm; 1.

W. C.' THAIRLWALL. (lamrlrake and Starter.

- 201,720. Patented March-2 @8m .@n .qu Y CQ-: f/wwwm N.PETERS, PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTONV DV C.

v2 -Smeets- Sheets 2.

W. G. THAIRLWALLf Gar Brake and Starter.

No. 201,720. Patented March 26,1878..

n @www Aff/5me,`

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIGE.

WILLIAM OQTHAIRLWALL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT |N CAR BRAKES AND STAETERS'.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. Q01,720`, dated March 26, 1878*; application filed i February 2, 1878.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. THAIRL- WALL, of Boston, in the county of Suifolli'and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements ,in Oar Brakes and Starters, of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates particularly t0 that class of combined car stopping and starting apparatus in which, when means areemployed to stop the car, the momentum thereof is caused to act on a spring and accumulate power therein to be used in starting or assisting' to start the car, the spring being connected to a sec-v ondary shaft which is adapted to be connected or geared at one end to an axle of the car in such manner that the rotation of the axle will cause the shaft to rotate in the opposite,

times, the first named causing the secondary shaft to compress the spring While the ca r is stopping, and the last enabling the recoiling power of the spring to be applied to the axle through the secondary shaft in such manner as to assist in starting the car. y

Heretofore in this class of stopping and starting apparatus the secondary shaft has been connected at both points through the instrumentality of a single sliding clutch on the axle, arranged to lock either of twoloose gear-wheels to the axle, these wheels being suitably connected to the secondary shaft. This single clutch, however,'can only lock one of the loose wheels at a time. Consequently, when one wheel has been locked, and the spring has been compressed by the resultant rotation of the secondary shaft, some auxiliaryfdevice must be employed to hold the secondary shaft, so as to retain the spring in its compressed condition while the clutch is being shifted to the other loose wheel, through which the recoiling power of the spring is to Abe imparted to the axle. Again, the single clutch does not enable both loose wheels to be locked to the axle at once, which is very desirable at times, as will appear hereinafter.

My invention has for its obj ect to enable the spring to be held in its compressed condition `by the same device which is used to cause the compression of the spring until the proper time for applying the recoiling power of the spring to the axle; also to enable both of the loose gears to be locked to the axle'simultane-v "onsly, this operation, through the intervention lof the secondary shaft, rendering the axle rigid, and enabling the car to be suddenly stopped.

The invention has for its object, finally, to produce a mechanical, practical, and easilyoperated apparatus adapted tobe applied to a street-car or other vehicle having abody supported by springs to stop or check the car and to start it wholly or in part after each stoppage I Y To these ends my invention consists in the combination, with the sprin g, 4secondary shaft,

and mechanism whereby said shaft is connected, as above described, to the car-axle, of

two separate and independent clutches, ar.

starts, sothat the recoiling power of the spring will be imparted to the axle to start the car through the latter clutch as soon as the former is released.

. The invention also consists in thecombination-of the independent clutches with the secondary shaft and mechanism whereby the shaft is connected to the caraxle, when said clutches are operated simultaneously for the purpose of engaging the axle with the secondary shaft at both ends at once to stop the car suddenly.

The invention also consists in'v'arious' details ofi construction and combinationsof parts, all of which I will now proceed to describe and claim. y Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification', Figure I represents a longitudinal section of a car embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a bottom view of the same. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 represent detail-views. Fig. l(ij-"Sheet 2,represents a bot-i tom4 view, showing a duplicationof the.ar. rangement shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 7 represents details of portions of the clutch-operating devices. Fig. 8 represents a transverse vertical section, showing a modification of the clutch-operating devices. Figs.- 9 and 10 represent views of another modication of the clutch-operating devices, andv Fig. 11 represents a perspective view of the pivoted levers and portions of the connecting-rods when the apparatus is constructed as shown in Fig. 6.

Similar letters refer to like parts in all the iigures. .f

In the drawings, A A represent the axles of a -street-car or other ,vehicle in which the axles revolve, and A1 represents the body of thecar supported on suitable springs A2. B

. represents a spur-wheel, and G a chain-wheel,

located on one or both of the axles A.

. The wheels B C are loose on the axle when .in their normal condition, (but are not movable lengthwise,) and they are adapted to be locked on the axle either independently or simultaneously.

To lockthe wheels B C, I employ two separate and, independent sliding brakes or friction-clutches, E E', which are located on one of the axles A, and are adapted both to slide on and revolvewith the axle, the sliding of axlev A. The shaft F is provided at one end ."withv a spur-wheel, B', meshingwith the spur- .wheel B, and at. the other end with a chain- .wheel,` G1, which is connected by a chain, C2, with the chain-wheel C. Gr represents the spring, which is preferably spiral in form, and is located in a box or casin g, H, suitably attached to the bottom of the car. The spring G is connected, by a chain or cord, I, with'a iianged ldrum, J, on the shaft F, the -spring being preferably provided with a headed rod, J', bearing on a plate, K, which is supported on the outer end .of the spring G, and is adapted to slide in the casing H. The cord or'chain' I is attached to the end of the rod J' and to the drum J, as shown in Fig. 1.

The slidingfclutches E E' are operated by the driver of the car, and for this purpose I provide the car at each end with two crankshafts, L L', provided at their upper ends with cranks and handles M M', placed within easy reach of the driver, and at their lower ends vwith cranks N N' below the bottom of the car. The latter cranks are connected by rods O O withtwo horizontal levers, P P', which are pivoted centrally to apost, Q, depending from the bottom of the car, the levers P; I" extending crosswise of the car, as shown. The lever P is connected indirectly with the clutch vEby'a'rod, It and the lever I" is connected sleeve, S, for supporting such connecting devices. This sleeve is located on the axle, and is connected to the body of the car by a tubular arm, S, rising from thesleeve, and a rod or bolt, S2, attachedvto the bottom of the car and projecting down into the arm S, this connection holding the sleeve from rotating and moving endwise, and at the same time enabling the body of the car to move up and down on its springs independently of the axles.

The connecting devices supported by the sleeve S may consist of a bell-crank lever, T, pivotedto an arm, S3, formed on the sleeve S, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, one end of the lever being connected to the rod R and the other to a ring, T', fitted in a circumferential groove in the sliding clutch.

In Fig. 8 the sleeve Sis shown as threaded externally and supporting an internally-threaded incl0sing-sleeve, U, which is provided with an arm, U', connected to the rod R the sleeve U engaging with the groove in the clutch, as shown. In this case the sleeve U is partially rotated by the rod R, and causedb y the screw threads to move endwise of the axle with the clutch.

In Figs. 9 and 10 the construction is similar to that shown in Fig. 8, with the exception that the non-rotatin g sleeve S and the inclos# ing sliding sleeve U are not threaded, (the latter sliding freely on a feather in the former,) and that the sleeve is provided on its under side with a pivoted plate, V, in which is an eccentric slot, W, while the sliding sleeve U is provided with a pin, P', which projects into the slot W. The plate V is provided with .an arm, V', which is connected .to the rod R, by the longitudinal movement of which the plate V is turned on its pivot, the slot W acting on the pin F' and causing the sleeve U with its clutch to move along the axle. v

I prefer to make the crank-shafts L' tubular and extend through them the shafts L, as shown in Fig. l, either shaft being adapted to be rotated Yor turned independently of the other. A partial rotation of the crank-shaft L'in one direction causes it through the described intermediate mechanism, to move the clutch E into connection with the wheel B, while a reverse movement of said crank-shaft will cause the separation of the clutch E from the wheel B. v

In like manner is the clutch E' operated by the crank-shaft L', the duplication of the crankthe quadrant, and with handles d, by means,

of which they may b e drawn away from the quadrant, as shown in Fig. 3. The arrangerV ment of the crank-shafts L L one within the other enables them both to be used in connection with a single quadrant, their cranks M Ml moving inconcentric lines parallel with the quadrant.

e represents a supplementary brake, which consists of a shoe located in one end of a frame, e', which incloses one axle ofthe car, this brake` being used when the wheels B G and accompanying devices are used in connection with the other axle, as shown in Figs, 1 and 2. The axle is preferably provided with acollar or enlargement, j', for the shoe c to bear against. `The frame e'lis pivoted at one end to ,a lever, g, which is pivoted at its upper end to the bottomof the car, and is connected at its lower end with the lever P by a rod, h, which is preferably made in two parts, as shown in Fig. 2, one part sliding in the other. A spiral spring, t', is interposed between the parts of the rod h to give the brake e `a yielding `pressure on the collar f. V

Operation: Supposel the bar to be running in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. When the car is to be stopped in such'manner as to compress the spring, the driver locks the wheel B to the axle by the clutch E, leaving the wheel C loose. to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4, and to compress the spring by winding the cord npon the drum until the car stops. rEhe supplementary brake e is applied to the other axle of the car at the same time that the clutch E is connected to the wheel B, the movement of the lever involved in operating the clutch E acting, through the rod h, to draw the brake c against the collar f. The supplementary brake acts as an adjunct to the spring Gr in stopping the car, these two agencies being usually sufficient when it is not de-v sirable to stop very suddenly. In fact, the spring alone can be made to effect the stoppage. The clutch E is kept in contact with the wheelB until itis desired to start the car, the spring being thus held in its compressed condition, its tendency now being to rotate the secondary shaft and the car-axle through the chain\vheels and chain in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. As soon as the carstops the driver locks the wheel O to the axle by means of the clutch E', thus holding the car stationary; and when the sig- The shaftF is thus caused nal to start is given the driver releases the wheel B, thus releasing the'spring and enablingiits recoiling power to be exerted on the axle through the locked chain-wheel C in such an increased form as to start the carin the direction in which it was previously moving. The spring is preferably made of such power that its force exerted on the axle, as described, will start the car independently of the horses. When the car is to be stopped suddenly the clutches E Ef are operated simultaneously to lock both the wheels B @,thus making the axle rigid through the intervention of the secondary shaft, the other axle being held at the same time by the supplementary brake, if the latter is employed. This .operation causes a sudden stoppage of the car, and is only to be resorted to in extreme cases.

. When the end of the line is reached, or when the car has to be backed after stopping, the chain-wheel G is locked first, and afterward Y the spur-wheel B. The recoiling power of the spring is then'returned to the axle through the spur-wheels in the opposite direction to that in whichl the car was previously moving.

If desired, the chain-wheel D may be first locked to induce the compression of the spring,

the spurwheel being locked afterward to apply the recoiling power of the spring to the axle.

The gears or connected wheels on the axle and secondary shaft through which the power of the axle is imparted to compress the spring are preferably made of equal diameters, while the gears or connectedwheels through which the recoiling power of the spring is applied to the axle are made of different diameters, the .wheel of the secondary shaftl being preferably onethird of the diameter of the wheel of the car-axle, so that the recoiling power of the spring will be given back to the axle in a sufficiently-increased form.

The clutches E E are in all cases held positively by the springbolts of the crank-shafts L Ll and the notched quadrants, so that when engaged with the loose wheels B C they cannot become disconnected therefrom, excepting by the actof the driver in releasing the crank shafts. Y

The spring-bolts a of the crankshaftsL Ll at the rearv end of the car are retracted and held out of connection with the quadrant by any suitable means, preferably by rings connecting their handles d with the handles of the cranks M M', so as to prevent these springbolts from interfering with the working of the crank-shafts in use at the other end of the car. These rings are changed from end to end each time the driver shifts. For light cars or vehicles I prefer to provide only one axle with the wheels B C; but for heavier cars the apparatus may be applied to both axles, as shown in Fig. 6.

The described apparatus is not affected in anyway by the movement of the body of the car on its springs independently of the wheels, and isA therefore well adapted to street-cars.

It is obvious that the parts described minus the spring constitute an effective brake or stopping apparatus with or without the supplem entary brake e.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a car stopping and starting apparatus the secondary shaft, the combination, with said elements, of the independent clutches E E', arranged on the car-axle, and mechanism, substantially as described, for operating and holding said clutches separately and independently, whereby one of the loose wheels B C is rst locked to the rotating car-axle, and then held to retain the spring G in the compressed condition induced by the locking of said wheel until the other loose wheel is locked to the axle to impart thereto the recoilingpower ofthe spring, substantially as described.

2. In a car-stopping apparatus, the combination of the spur-wheel B and chain-wheel C, both adapted to revolve loosely on an axle of the car, and the secondary shaft F, connected, as described, to the wheels B C, with the independent clutches E E', arranged on the car-axle, and mechanism, substantially as described, for operating and holding said clutches simultaneously, whereby the car-axle is suddenly locked and prevented from rotating, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

3. In a car brake or stopping apparatus, the combination of the axles A A, the wheels B C, loose upon one axle, the mechanism for locking the wheels B C to the axle, the seccrank-shafts are connected to the clutches E E', substantially as set forth.

6. rEhe combination of a sliding clutch, a sleeve, S, supporting clutch-operating devices, substantially as described, located on the shaft or axle which carries the clutch, and devices, substantially as described, whereby the sleeve S is connected to a body or support adjacent tothe shaft or axle in such manner as to be prevented from rotating or moving endwise without being affected by the independent vertical movement of said body or support, as set forth.

7. The sleeve S, having the tubular arm S1, combined with the bolt or rod S2 entering said tubular arm, and adapted to move up and down therein, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM C. THAIRLWALL.

Witnesses C. F. BRowiv, GEO. W. PIERCE. 

